Timeline of Events of the World
The following is an elaboration on the timeline of events of the Known World of Heimrum, starting from 34,000 years after humanity1 first appeared in the world. Dates in this article will be expressed using the Universal Calendar, an out-of-character calendar meant to simplify the tracking of time in this world. Dates are written as yyyyy.mm.dd and so for example, the first day, of the first month, of the thirty-four thousandth year would be written as 34000.1.1. There are twelve months, each with thirty days, making a year three hundred sixty days. Several eras and ages may be defined in this timeline, but will be non-precise, just as real eras and ages can be. 1 "Humanity" in this context means the collection of all intelligent races. "Humans", as known in the real world, are not the only intelligent beings that exist in this world. Each race, culture, and language will have different names for "the collection of intelligent life", but for the sake of simplicity for the reader, "humanity" will be used to refer to all intelligent beings. If a better word is found or coined, it will be added here. Beginning of civilization (34420.1.1) Sasit, Elet, and Kamit Approximately 34,420 years after the beginning of humanity, agriculture was developed simultaneously in different parts of world, particularly Alyissia and Lyria. In southern Alyissia, the Hayei River became the center of civilization for the Sasit, Elet, and Kamit peoples. With the advent of agriculture and husbandry, these peoples formed kingdoms from their previously tribal lifestyles. These civilizations were the first to record their history, using clay tablets. The Sasit did develop a rudimentary form of paper, but because its fragility and flammability it became impractical for use beyond short-term messages. The first cities and urban areas developed, the largest being Kana in the Kingdom of the Sasits. These three kingdoms spoke a common language which they called Tadim and are therefore known as the Tamidic Kingdoms. The Tadimic language was the de facto lingua franca for these peoples for centuries even after their common tongues diverged to form dialects and eventually separate languages. The system of government between these polities was fairly uniform. Each had a king, albeit with different methods of ascension, who gave the law, officiated religious affairs, collected taxes, and conducted diplomacy with the other nations. Dynasty of Emel The Sasit kingdom formed in the year 34420 with Emel as its first King. Emel was a wealthy farmer who lived in the southernmost regions of what became the Sasit kingdom, near the coastline. Emel ordered his palace be built in the center of the city of Kana where he proclaimed his capital. Rival farms and tribal leaders did not accept his rule initially, especially a tax he imposed on all landowners throughout his new realm. The First Wars were the conflict that settled the matter. Emel, who had employed thousands of workers, was able to raise an enormous army to enforce his rule. Local tribal leaders, most notably the chieftain of the Jalai clan Ezalimanunet, put up a resistance with their own armies, but were decisively defeated. Ezalimanunet was captured and brought to Kana where, in exchange for sparing his life, he submitted to Emel and ordered his clan to do the same. Other clan leaders followed suit and Emel became the undisputed King of Sasit on 34431.4.11. One of his first acts as king was to promulgate a code of law, the Emelian Code, which became one of the first legal systems in the world. It established the rights of landowners, peasants, and servants. It prescribed the penalties for various crimes including theft, murder, adulatory, fraud, and blasphemy. It also acted as the first tax code, ordering that all landowners pay ten gold pieces for every hundred they earn. Landowners could exempt themselves from this tax, or at least reduce it, if they made sufficient donations to the temples of the gods either in the form of money or time served. For example, if a landowner spent two weeks assisting in the rituals that honored the gods, he would only have to pay five gold pieces for every hundred he earned for that year. Religious leaders were exempt from all taxes and a small sales tax was imposed on merchants: fifteen silver pieces for every seventy-five earned The Emelian code also established some rights for women, proclaiming that husbands were forbidden from striking their wives and imposing a death penalty for rape. Women, however, could not own property in their own right and most women did not have much choice in whom they would marry, although certain practices were adopted that ensured a woman would be married to an acceptable man. A form of marriage payment was developed, called the Eusial, and included in the Emelian Code, where a bride's family would be paid a sum of money by either the groom or his family, usually thirty gold pieces, to act as a kind of insurance. If a woman's husband was abusive, a drunkard, or neglected his wife in any way, her family would then use the money to support her until she could be granted a divorce, which was provided for in the code. A divorce could only be granted to a woman if she could prove she was being mistreated. Since a man could be granted a divorce if his wife did not bear any children after three years, the Eusial also acted as a means of support in that event. The Code provided a penalty for families that spent the Eusial in a manner not connected with supporting their daughter; five lashes for her father, three for her mother, and two for any other relatives who squandered the money. They were then required to pay half their wages to her until the original Eusial was restored. The Code did not establish a means of ascension to the throne which made Emel vulnerable. He married Imashaluki, the daughter of an influential tribesman, both to improve relations with what were essentially his new vassals, and to produce a son whom he would name his heir. His first child was a daughter to his disappointment, born on 34438.8.30. She was named Eketiuni. Although he planned to have another child, he became worried that the gods had ordained he would only have daughters, and so began drafting a promulgation that his eldest child would succeed him. He sealed it in his quarters, and commanded that it only be opened upon his untimely death. Imashaluki became pregnant again and Emel began praying to the gods more devoutly, especially the fertility goddess Aneki. His prayers were answered when Imashaluki gave birth to a son on 34442.3.5, whom he named Simiktah. He then destroyed his earlier promulgation and proclaimed Simiktah would be his heir and successor. He called upon all local governors, tribal leaders, and landowners and made them bow before the baby boy, promising they would obey and serve him as they did his father. This set a tradition that continued for centuries afterward. The Elet Kingdom formed a few years after the Sasit Kingdom and was located to the north of Sasit. Its culture was very similar to Sasit and neighboring Kamit. As previously mentioned, all three kingdoms spoke the same language early in their history. Elet was a minor kingdom, as was Kamit. Both were dominated in size, influence, and trade by Sasit which strained relations between Emel and Eolikeitanti, the first Eletian king. The culmination of this tension was Emel's demand that Elet and Kamit submit to Sasit and join the realm. The Kingdom of Kamit agreed, on the condition that no tax be imposed for ten years, which Emel agreed. The Kingdom of Elet on the other hand, refused to submit and so Emel initiated the invasion and eventual conquest of the nation. The war was brief, concluding on 34456.7.18 when all the governors of Elet paid tribute to Emel. A crisis erupted three years after the Tamidic Kingdoms were united when Emel died on 34459.6.31. His son and heir, Simiktah was almost immediately declared King, but was far too young to rule and a power struggle broke out between Emel's closest advisers. Imashaluki, Simiktah's mother, demanded they all stay away from the young toddler and assumed the role of regent for her son, taking a seat on the throne. Emel's advisers dismissed her as an hysterical widow and insisted one of them was the true regent. Geshitemi, Emel's minister of finance, was able to put together a force of 300 men and marched them to the royal palace in Kana. He demanded Imashaluki remove herself from the throne and recognize him as Simiktah's regent. He threatened to kill her daughter, Eketiuni, and then the young king if she did not obey. Instead, the royal guard, which numbered over 1,000 men, aligned themselves with the king's mother. This came as a surprise to Geshitemi, as he expected the soldiers would obey a trusted confidant of the late king. Nevertheless, he ordered the kidnapping of Eketiuni but when she could not be found, they instead took a peasant farm girl, put a hood over her face, and presented her to Imashaluki in an attempt to trick her into thinking they had her daughter. They then slit the farm girl's throat and left her body in front of the palace. Imashaluki then called their bluff and revealed her daughter was safe in the palace with her. She then ordered the massacre of Geshitemi's men but made sure Geshitemi was taken alive. The small force was devastated and many of Geshitemi's soldiers abandoned the cause and pleaded for mercy. Geshitemi was sentenced to death by Imashaluki personally. He begged her for mercy but the king's mother instead commanded he be crucified, which was carried out four days later. Imashaluki located the family of the farm girl who was slain by Geshitemi and paid them fifty gold pieces in compensation. The episode established the supreme rule of the royal family in Sasit and the precedent that a young king's mother would prefer as regent.